It’s super exciting to grow poppies in your garden thanks to their impossible-not-to-like bright and lovely color. In fact, this special flower has been coveted by many gardeners for a long time.
Besides that, they are perfect for all skill levels to grow because they can endure poor soil conditions and periods of drought.
So, allow us to show you how to take care of poppies in this article today. Let’s begin!
Growing Poppy Flowers
First, choose how you want to grow your poppies from seed or root division. The first is the easiest and most common method.
As we have mentioned, poppies aren’t particular with regard to the soil they are planted in. While they’ll live in poor to average soil, it’s best to put them in rich, deep, and well-draining soil.
Along with this, make sure they are placed in a sunny spot prior to planting them. Partial to full sun is fine with them.
Should you opt to divide their roots to grow them, do so in the fall. This allows the taproot (a deeper kind of root structure) to ready itself for the blooming season, which is in spring.
Depending on the variety and how you grow them, these plants can have majestic, large flowers or small attractive ones with eye-pleasing stems and leaves.
Other Care Tips for Poppies
Water poppies when planting them, but limit watering once they are established. Don’t give them any more than they need, as this can cause them to have an unsightly, stalky appearance.
Generally, frequent deadheading is also needed to promote new flowers and leaves so they’ll look amazing year after year in your backyard.
Note that special care is needed for different poppy varieties. Some of these are detailed below.
- Bear in mind that annual poppies planted in a wildflower patch don’t require staking or trimming.
- Taller Oriental and Himalayan poppies have to be staked since they can flop over.
- With Oriental poppies, you may get a second wave of blossoms by cutting them to ground level after the flowering period is over. We suggest applying mulch and fertilizer for this.
- Oriental poppies self-seed a lot. If you want them to produce more flowers, you should collect seed-containing pods to control the plants from spreading.
By doing this, they can focus their energy on solely creating more blooms rather than seeding.
Some Suggestions about Poppy Varieties
Not all poppy varieties are the same. It can be fun to handpick those you’d like to grow when buying at a nursery or flower shop.
If you like eye-catching, large flowers, Oriental poppies may be for you. However, be aware that they might die in hot summer conditions but come back in the next season without flowering.
For delicate and small blossoms, you can pick Armenian poppies. But if your goal is to fill your meadow with abundant poppies, then choose California poppies.
